Freshman music major Joe Bach as John and senior theate major Sydney Mitchell as Jen.

Lab Theatre to perform ‘john and jen’ April 22-25

The Lab Theatre at the University of South Carolina will present the musical, “john and jen,” for its final performance of the season April 22 – 25 in what will be the directorial debut of senior theater major Zach Kennedy.

All shows take place at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5, available at the door.

The musical takes a look at the complexities of relationships between brothers and sisters and parents and children, set against the background of a changing America between 1950 and 1990. It is based on the book by Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald, with music by Lippa and lyrics by Greenwald.

Lippa is the award-winning creator of the Broadway hit, “The Wild Party,” which won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in 2000. He recently composed music for “The Addams Family,” currently running on Broadway. Greenwald is creative director at Spotco, a theatrical advertising and marketing company. Some of his current clients include “Rent,” “Chicago,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” “Avenue Q” and “All Shook Up.”

Kennedy and musical director, senior theater major William Shuler, selected “john and jen” because of its small cast and band size, both necessary for the Lab Theatre, plus its contemporary nature.

“I feel like it is important that at USC we extend our horizons a bit,” said Kennedy, who will attend the University of California at San Diego next year to pursue an master’s degree in stage management. “Most plays on the main stage focus on classical training, and I think exposure to musical theater and a more modern theater experience would be great to do in the Lab.”

At USC, Kennedy has been production stage manager of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “Mother Courage and Her Children” and “Cabal of Hypocrites.” He was stage manager of “The Skin of Our Teeth.”

For more information, contact Kevin Bush at 803-777-9353 or bushk@mailbox.sc.edu.